Quantifying Effort in American Football

Emily Shteynberg, Luke Snavely, Sheryl Solorzano

Background and Motivation

  • Not all rushing yards are equal

  • Traditional stats miss the “how” behind yards gained

  • Previous research has explored athletes reaching theoretical max capacity 1

  • Can we “measure” effort using tracking data?

  • Multiple ways of evaluating effort

    • Intangible and subjective
    • Depends on player position, defense faced, game context, snap count/play volume, play call/assignment